On January 2, 2018, Clariant, a specialty chemicals company, announced the development of a new biobased polymer for cosmetic creams and lotions. The new ingredient is a rheology modifier that influences formulation viscosity and achieves specific sensorial and texturizing properties for creams and lotions, but does not change the properties of an application. The polymer contains more than 50 percent renewable carbon derived from sugar-based isobutene. Global Bioenergies, an industrial biotechnology company, produces the renewable isobutene on a small scale at a demo plant in Germany. Clariant and Global Bioenergies are working to scale up production volumes. According to Ralf Zerrer, the Head of Strategic Marketing and Innovation, Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties at Clariant, "[t]he demand for ingredients based on renewable resources is here to stay and will become the norm among brands in the very near future.”